The Paradise Symphony Orchestra celebrates its 60th year with a special “Diamond Anniversary Concert” at 7 p.m., Sunday at the Paradise Performing Arts Center.

Lloyd Roby has directed the orchestra for 14 years. He is enthusiastic about this season. “Every concert is going to be outstanding,” he said.

Paradise Symphony Orchestra has invited Dawn Harms as guest conductor for the special concert. She is an example of what can be accomplished with early musical training.

“Dawn grew up in Paradise,” Roby said. “Her early training was in the Paradise Symphony, and she now plays with the San Francisco Opera Orchestra.

“She has come back and performed with the Paradise company many times, but this time, rather than seeing her as a performer, audiences will see her as performer and a conductor. She’s going to be doing the German ‘stehgeiger’ which is a person who plays while standing and conducting at the same time.”

The “Diamond Concert” will also include Theatre On the Ridge guest vocalists Judy Clemens and Teresa Hurley-Miller. They will sing, “Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend” and “Diamonds are Forever.”

“Backing the TOTR duet is a jazz combo made up of musicians of the symphony,” Roby explained. “They will play some jazz music as well as the classical music the orchestra does so well. We have 12 musicians in the jazz combo. I’ll conduct the jazz combo and will play trombone for the Dvorak piece.”

Roby is referring to Czech composer Antonin Dvorak’s Symphony No. 8. Dvorak was the leading European composer of the 19th century and composed nine symphonies.

The concert program also includes “Adagio for Strings” by Italian composer and violinist Tomaso Albinoni. He is one of the less familiar composers as he lived from 1671 to 1750.

In 1958, Paradise Recreation District Director Harvey Roth placed a notice in the Paradise News Press inviting local musicians to organize a symphony in the small town. Eight people responded to his request and the Paradise Community Orchestra was born.

Since that time, the growing orchestra is now the Paradise Symphony Orchestra. It not only provides live symphony concerts to appreciative audiences, it has an education program to teach aspiring young musicians to play stringed instruments.

“Diamond Concert” tickets are $20 per person, $15 seniors and students. Children age 17 and under are free with a paying adult.

Ticket outlets include Fuller’s Flowers, Paradise Cinema 7, PostNet and Dove’s Gypsy Heart Boutique in Paradise. Tickets are also available at The Music Connection in Chico or online at paradisesymphony.org. For more information, call 513-1507.